When players have a hankering for some good ole’ fashioned sports betting action, Bovada is the sportsbook to which they flock. For over two decades and counting, they have been one of the leading online bookmakers, a place where money seems to grow on trees, where the cash flows uninterrupted right to your bank account. Millions of people play the odds at Bovada. In fact, other bookmakers get their insider info from this site, because they are usually the first to post them. Bovada has a huge selection of sports to bet on. You will of course find football, baseball, and basketball, but you can also bet on international sports like rugby and cricket. You can even bet on politics and entertainment, as if there is a difference.
A quick history of Bovada explains why the site is so highly regarded. It started over two decades ago and has since grown to satisfy millions of members. Based in Quebec, Canada, it has a license issued by the esteemed Kahnawake Gaming Commission. It also is one of the elite few sports betting sites to hold the Kahnawake Certificate of Good Standing. The Kahnawake Commission does not give this honor to just any old sportsbook. Only the best receive the certificate. Speaking of best, Bovada has the edge on other betting sites in more ways than one. Besides the sheer number of sports offered and their competitive odds and wager types, Bovada also has some slam-dunk bonuses and no-diggity deposit and payout methods.
Bovada accepts players from most states as long as they are old enough to bet, and it is free to sign up. When you do, you will receive a bonus right off the bat. That sounds to me like the best goll-darned deal of the year. We will cover bonuses in this Bovada review, as well as all of the legal and safety background to set your mind at ease. We will also tell you about some extraordinary special features that you will adore, like mobile and live betting. However, I’m getting ahead of myself. Best to start from square one with all the legal stuff. So here goes...
Yes, it very much is. Although US federal gambling law says that sportsbooks cannot operate in 48 states, Bovada does not have to follow these laws because it functions overseas. The American government allows regulated bookmaking in only Nevada and Delaware, and prevents the transfer of betting information from one state to another. Do not let this scare you off, though. This just means that there is a lack of opportunities on our side of the pond, but this doesn’t extend to the World Wide Web. Rest assured, there is no law targeting you, the player. The actual targets of the law are bookmakers operating underground betting parlors. In the history of sports betting, not one regular online player has ever gotten in trouble for placing a wager.
Bovada is one of the best online sportsbooks you will be lucky enough to find. Its sterling reputation of excellence proves this fact. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission oversees Bovada and ensures that the site adheres to the very highest standards. This site always pays out its winners in full and on time. They also have a crack team of security aces whose job it is to make sure that the site’s safety protocols are up to snuff. This includes firewalls that prevent intrusion, and anti-virus software with encryption that codes all sensitive information so unauthorized parties cannot decipher it.
Signing up is simple. You just have to click on the red tab that says, “Join now.” From there, you will have to type your contact information in. Once you are ready, click the tab that says, “Open account.” Once this process is complete, you are ready to make a deposit. This is as simple as selecting your funding method. As long as you deposit at least $25, you can play the action at Bovada. Next, we will go in-depth about funding methods.
Now that you have created your Bovada account, it is time to choose a sportsbook deposit method. Let’s take a closer look at each option. The most popular way to deposit money is through Visa or MasterCard. It takes a matter of minutes for your transfer to go through. You can put in as little as $25 or as much as $1000 at time. There is a small fee that will be below 5%, and varies depending on the type of card you use.
Next, Western Union is a speedy way to fund your account. You can deposit anywhere from $100 to $5,000. There is a 4.9 percent fee for transactions under $300, but they conveniently waive the fee if you deposit over $300. Prepaid cards are another quick and easy option. How quick? Just minutes. There is a 4.7 percent fee for prepaid cards. Finally, MoneyGram is takes less than three days, with a fee of 4.9 percent on amounts less than $300. The minimum deposit is $100 and the maximum is $900.
Payouts are headache and hassle-free at Bovada. If you go to the funding methods page, you will see several options for making a sportsbook withdrawal. These methods are Western Union, MoneyGram, and check by courier. Western Union and MoneyGram both take about 1-2 days. You can take out anywhere from $300 to $5,000. There are no fees for either service. Check by courier is also fast, usually less than a week. The payout limits are anywhere from $20 to $3,000. You get one free withdrawal every month, with each additional payout costing $50. One thing you may notice is that there are no credit or debit card options for payouts. This is thanks to a law called the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Under UIGEA mandates, you cannot use credit or debit cards to make withdrawals.
Is it a coincidence that the first two letters in “Bovada” and “bonuses” are b and o? Probably, but it’s kind of a cool connection, if you ask me. You’ll find bonuses galore at Bovada. There is a bonus for every type of bettor. For those who like the sportsbook, there’s the $250 sports welcome bonus, which graces you with 50 percent on your first deposit up to $250. If you are into table games, the $3,000 casino welcome bonus has you covered. Bovada also offers a bonus for the mobile casino, as well as blackjack weekends and table mania Tuesdays. The way this works is if you bet at least $250 on any table game on a Tuesday, you will receive a ten-dollar cash bonus on Wednesday. Finally, for all you poker fans out there, check out the bad beat bonus, the royal flush bonus, and the weekly freerolls.
Before you use your sportsbook bonus, you are usually required to spend a certain amount of your deposit money. This is what’s known as a rollover requirement, and the reason for it is to make sure you actually spend some money at Bovada and don’t just use the bonus and nothing else. It may sound like an unnecessary hoop to jump through, but it’s not. It’s a just a way for Bovada to ensure that they aren’t being cheated. Also, when you send in your deposit, you will have to include a code of letter and number in the heading of your email. This is called a promo code, and it’s to let Bovada know which bonus you would like to claim. It also let’s them know that you are aware of the rollover requirements, time limits, expiration dates, etc.
Now that we’ve covered the basics of Bovada, it’s time to get into some of the fun stuff. The first feature you should know about is live in-game play. It is a revolutionary new feature in online sportsbooks, and Bovada’s is state-of-the-art. You can watch the game unfold in real time and bet on it simultaneously. You don’t have to bet merely on the outcome of the game, either. If you want to bet whether a certain player makes a touchdown during the last few minutes of the third quarter, you can. Of if a kicker is going to miss a field goal. Live in-game play allows you a greater level of interaction than regular sports betting. All of the statistics and odds are updated very frequently, complete with a list of current and future actions to bet on. You can also watch recaps and replays from multiple viewpoints. Live betting gives you a you-are-there experience unlike any other!
The last thing I want to tell you about is mobile betting. Many people in today’s society simply do not have time to bet on all the games they want. Luckily, mobile betting lets you do all of your betting from the palm of your hand using your mobile phone. You can take the action anywhere you want. It does not cost a penny and you do not have to download anything. GeoTracking ensures that you are always betting from a safe and secure location. To use mobile betting, simply visit Bovada’s mobile page and sign in.